After beets have cooled add the lemon juice, vinegar, honey, mustard, thyme, and salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in oil while whisking. Place beets and cheese on top of lettuce and drizzle with dressing.

Combine vinegar, salt, and sugar. Remove some moisture from cucumbers by laying them out and sprinkle with a little salt. Put onions and cucumbers into vinegar mixture. Let sit for about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours. Strain out liquid. Serve with fresh dill and a dollop of yogurt on top.

Blanch orzo in boiling, salted water until done. Cool under running water and strain. Add your favorite diced vegetables, peas, or whatever you like. Season with salt and pepper.
Combine all ingredients in a pot. Bring to a boil. Let simmer for 60 seconds. Puree and chill. Add to salad and mix thoroughly.

Toss in the green onion, olives, capers, basil and oregano. Whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper and toss in. Cover and refrigerate to cool, or up to 24 hours. Sprinkle with feta to serve. (Recipe curtesy of southwest foodie)

Vidalia Onion Casserole
I have posted this before, but since we have some new members I will post it again since it is my favorite. Since posting this I have tried it with just regular sweet onions and it worked just as well.

Melt butter. Saute onions in butter until very limp. Sometimes I have to do 2 batches to get all of the onions. Layer in casserole dish, the parmesan cheese, onions and ritz, ending with ritz on top. Adjust cheese to your taste. bake at 325 for 30 minutes.

Beans must be soaked overnight in water 2 inches higher than the beans, or use the quick soak method on package. In a blender, mix cooled pine nuts with remaining pesto ingredients. The following day when ready to prepare, drain beans. In a covered kettle, add 2 inches of cold water to drained beans and ham hack. Simmer beans until tender, about 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Drain beans, discard ham hock and keep beans warm. While beans are simmering, in a large heavy skillet bring 4 cups of water to a boil and stir in rice and 1/2 t. creole seasoning. Cook rice covered over low heat, undisturbed 18-20 minutes or until water is absorbed and rice is tender. Fluff rice with fork and add to beans. Stir in butter, pesto, creole seasoning and cayenne. To make a little spicier add some more cayenne.

Mix first 8 ingredients together. Add generous amount of Italian
dressing, and salt & pepper to taste, remembering that the pasta will
absorb a lot of seasoning. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.
It's actually better the next day.

You may vary the ingredients as you wish: blanched frozen peas, broccoli
florets, small cubes of mozzerella cheese, sundried tomatoes or tuna are
all good additions.
Any substantial pasta such as shells, bow ties or penne may be
substituted for the rotini.

6-8 medium tomatoes
1 125g buffalo mozzarella
handful of fresh basil
Marlborough sea salt
Freshly milled pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
Juice of one lemon
Slice the tomatoes and cut the mozzarella into uniform slices. Arrange alternate slices of tomato and cheese in concentric circles on a platter or in a dish, interspersing with basil leaves.
Sprinkle with the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over some olive oil.
Allow to sit for an hour and serve at room temperature.

Place shredded cabbage and sliced green onions in medium sized bowl. Whisk together sesame oil and rice vinegar. Pour oil/vinegar mixture over cabbage and onions. Add sesame seeds and pepper. Toss until all ingredients are well coated with dressing.